


Frequencies

by LostInQueue, MyJediLife



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Ben is a Astrobiologist, F/M, He looks for little green men, Rey Needs A Hug, Rey is a tollbooth collector, Romantic Soulmates, Soft Ben Solo, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-15
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:42:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23153449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LostInQueue/pseuds/LostInQueue, https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyJediLife/pseuds/MyJediLife
Summary: It was easily the largest diamond she’d ever seen, set up in a crown of smaller ones mangling the top gears to the rotation belt. The damned thing turned them into gnarled teeth… and for the moment all she could do was try not to cry in frustration.“Well, there goes the opportunity for more help,” she muttered, plucking up the ring to examine it - only to drop it immediately.Her brain exploded with noise the moment she touched it. There was a sound like that of a television that was turned all the way up on a station broadcasting nothing but static. Next, she heard someone talking to her, a male voice, but it was like he was talking through a fan, his words indecipherable and far away. A pair of molten chocolate eyes and a shock of dark hair came to her mind, but then the noise faded away the moment she dropped the ring.Rey’s eyes widened at the sharp prick she felt in her mind, questioning herself internally, all unsure and incredibly freaked out about it, asking herself over and over again about what the hell that was.
Relationships: Chewbacca & Rey, Kylo Ren & Rey, Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey & Ben Solo, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 30
Kudos: 89
Collections: Reylo Charity Anthology: Volume 2





	1. Chapter 1

“No.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Ben said incredulously, looking up at Kaydel’s face from his position, kneeling on one knee on the floor of the restaurant, a gleaming ring in a velvet box resting in his outstretched hand.

“No. I can’t marry you, Ben. I mean, it’s been fun and all, and… well, you are a good guy for the most part, when you’re not dark and brooding or angry at the world - but you’re a damn alien expert! Do you know what that would do to my reputation if I married you? I’m an  _ attorney _ , Ben.”

“And I have a doctorate in Astrobiology, is being a professor and scholar embarrassing? I didn’t know you hated academia so much.” Ben’s face was bright red, his voice a low, barely controlled rumble as he got to his feet, snapping the box closed so forcefully he thought it might be dented.

“I don’t, Ben…” Kaydel leaned in, looking around at the other diners before whispering, “But you spend ninety-nine percent of your life looking for little green men - and people find that a bit off putting in the circles I socialize in. I’m sorry, Ben. I… I don’t think I have ever really been truly in love with you.”

“I see. So, we both wasted the last two years of our lives. You don’t think you could have informed me of this before I decided to propose to you, Kaydel? Maybe that conversation should have been one we had?” Ben could feel the area under his left eye twitching - a surefire sign he would have to destroy a helpless object to abate his anger before the night was through.

He could feel the eyes of their fellow diners on him, whispering softly. Ben could only imagine what they were saying. His face was flushed red, both with embarrassment and anger.

“I’ll pay the bill,” he paused to collect himself, then started again, “and I’ll get the things you have at my house packed up and sent to your place by courier. Sound good?” Ben’s voice was low, pitched so only Kaydel could hear him.

“Ben, I…” Kaydel started to speak, but Ben was already standing, a perfect mask on his face that made his emotions unreadable to her. Kaydel knew Ben was overly emotional, and when he felt something, he felt it with every fiber of his being. She knew she had wounded him deeply, and that he would probably go home and rage against a punching bag until he was spent.

But wasn’t it better for her to be honest with him now, before they moved any further in a relationship that she knew wouldn’t last?

“Goodbye, Kaydel.” Ben said as he turned away, tucking the ring box back in his pocket as he went to pay the bill and ask the valet to bring his car around. Kaydel hated driving, so she didn’t own a car, but after this, Ben had no trouble leaving her behind to hail a cab. 

As he raced out of the city into Connecticut, Ben had no real destination in mind - he just knew he had to get out of the city for a while. Three hours later, after he had vented his anger and frustration on a few garbage cans in a state park, he was back in New York, still angry - but able to control it more.

As he reached the toll booths, Ben let a smile come to his face. Maybe there could be some good to come from this night - because he was about to give someone a gift. He had no use for the large ring he had purchased, in the hopes Kaydel would love it. Now, it would only serve as a reminder of another failure in his life. And there was no way his deflated self would be walking back into the jewelers to get a refund. He’d just been so sure of himself, of their love, the last thing he wanted to do was rehash the situation. No good would come of it. None at all…

The booths served as an outlet, better than any receptacle he could have found otherwise, thinking that at least someone would find it. Maybe they could have a better turn out, he thought bitterly. 

As he tossed the change in the basket to pay for his toll - he tossed the ring in, as well, truly leaving her behind in the process.

While he sped away, he said goodbye to his old life and what he had thought it would be. He might not know what the future held, but he would make it through. He always had and always would.

\---

Rey Johnson did not honestly believe that there was a career to be made in tending toll booths, but she had been wrong before, and this was a great opportunity to be wrong again. Sure, it wasn’t adventurous, there was no travel for her, per se, but people around her were going off into the great unknown, and Rey felt it was her duty to make the most of it, smiling at everyone as they rode off into the night. 

The only excitement about tending at night was the peace of it all, less the traffic, that is. New York City traffic just outside the Lincoln Tunnel is usually a tight spot, tighter when one of the lanes is down, and don’t get her started on how bad it is when there’s an accident deep within it, unless of course it has nothing to do with her tolls… then fire away. Every New Yorker she knew seemed to have the same outlook. Then again, that’s not exactly true. Charles Bacca, their usual patrolling cop, could go on for hours about what was wrong with the system at the roll of an eye.

For now though, the night had been clearer than most - but certainly too bright to see any of the sparkling stars she’d grown up seeing out west, far from the city lights. Instead of seeing what had to be a sea of twinkling lights there, here she was lucky if she counted five.

Speaking of five… booth five hadn’t been checked for a full day, and what with all the E-Z Pass lanes that had been put in, it really hadn’t been used quite as much. Still, twenty-four hours was pushing it without a check, so she travelled from her booth, switching with her shiftmate, to check the collection.

In their particular facility she had to make it over to booth five, press in a code and turn a key to get the load to drop through an underground system that poured the money down a plastic chute on a steep enough angle to keep from clogging or leaving coins behind. From there, it was eased into a counter hosted by the Tristate, which was honestly the cheapest bank to work with. The deal helped her hire one extra attendant - of which she was still working on due to the last guy that showed up… that one, Rey rolled her eyes at the thought of Mr. Coffee, which she found herself calling him from day one, never actually learning his name, which at the time she felt bad for until his carelessness knocked over his cup onto the commuters door. She remembers praying to every entity she could think of to hopefully avoid a lawsuit over spilt coffee. That was awful, the amount of work it took to find the truck he never reported, just to find the mistake… it was a total godsend that the window hadn’t been open, but that's besides the point. Rey needed help, and a new attendant, but it would just have to wait for now. 

The fall of the money from it’s basin was the most entertaining part of clearing toll five. It honestly was the woosh itself that felt like it was more than a few hundred dollars raining down to its new home within the cube, but while the moment was short lived, it always seemed to stay with her just as the blaring horns of fire trucks or the deep bursting sounds of fireworks. It just did. In some ways she thought that a sound could make her feel both small and important, like there was a true purpose in life that she was missing out on but could never find. 

That feeling was sort of unsettling since she liked her job. Her life was a quiet one when she’d get off work, so much so that if she didn't plan on sleeping, she opted to stay around the facility even if she had nothing to do. Some days she could hide it, but others were so painfully obvious to the rest of the staff that she found herself going home anyway. 

  
  


Tonight, however, wouldn't be that night. _ Rey had plans _ . 

Some would snort at what they were, but she had found a cool little spot at the top of her apartment building. One that was no doubt shared, but certainly something she could work on… at least that's what her landlord said. Surely he would be making off with an additional fee for use of that space, but he had assured her it wouldn't be placed on her for doing it. And oh, the possibilities… 

But it all stopped when she saw the coin machine billowing smoke as it tried to choke down something that clearly wasn’t change.

Rey swore a line of curses as she ran to rip the plug out of the wall, gagging on the thick blend of grease and smoke that laid over her tongue. It was enough to choke for days but nothing could prepare her for what she found creating the mess to begin with.

It was easily the largest diamond she’d ever seen, set up in a crown of smaller ones mangling the top gears to the rotation belt. The damned thing turned them into gnarled teeth… and for the moment all she could do was try not to cry in frustration.

“Well, there goes the opportunity for more help,” she muttered, plucking up the ring to examine it - only to drop it immediately. 

Her brain exploded with noise the moment she touched it. There was a sound like that of a television that was turned all the way up on a station broadcasting nothing but static. Next, she heard someone talking to her, a male voice, but it was like he was talking through a fan, his words indecipherable and far away. A pair of molten chocolate eyes and a shock of dark hair came to her mind, but then the noise faded away the moment she dropped the ring.

Rey’s eyes widened at the sharp prick she felt in her mind, questioning herself internally, all unsure and incredibly freaked out about it, asking herself over and over again about what the hell that was.

\---

As Ben downed his third glass of whiskey, his head exploded with noise, like a television was turned on to static, and the volume had been turned up as loud as it could be. A voice came to him, a decidedly  _ female _ one, but he couldn’t hear what she was saying. A pair of hazel eyes came into his head, followed by a quick glimpse of chestnut hair.

As quickly as it had begun, it ended, and Ben was left with nothing more than silence in his own head once more.

He felt lonely, like the woman in his head had brought a few, small moments of joy, and a sense of belonging he had never felt before. It was… like finding buried treasure in your backyard - even though you weren’t looking for it.

Somehow, his life had changed in the literal blink of an eye. Instead of being upset, or worried, Ben found that he was simply intrigued. He wanted to explore the sense of belonging that had washed over him when he heard her voice and caught a glimpse of her eyes.

He wanted to find her - somehow, some way. 

\---

Based on the change in the unit, and the fact that there wasn’t much left in the tube by the time she got down to check it, Rey gave herself at least five hours to go over the tapes looking for clues.

  
  
_ The incident couldn't have happened earlier than that, _ she told herself, it was just too long ago by the location of the ring. If anything it was sooner, far sooner than that. 

“What’cha up to?” Officer Bacca asked as he made his way back around his patrol to check in on her once more. 

Rey grumbled her response, talking into the mouth of her mug.

“Come again?” he followed up as he took a seat next to her. 

“Hmm?” Rey looked over at him curiously. Remembering herself, she replied, “Oh...oh! Yeah I’m…” she stopped to pick up the ring, pinching it between her thumb and index finger. 

The noise erupted in her head once more, causing her to drop the ring like it had burned her. A man’s voice shouted, but once again, Rey couldn’t make out the words. She looked up to find Officer Bacca staring at her incredulously.

“Engaged?!” Charles pushed his chair back hard enough for the legs to scrape the floor, only to get stuck and throw himself out of it, throwing him from it to the floor with a crash. 

The thud of him hitting the floor had been unmistakable, making others to stand and double check on the man, embarrassing him further. 

“Yes…” Rey angled herself towards him, looking to help, but he had shrugged her off. 

“ _ Since when _ ?” 

This wasn’t exactly a question, but one that flowed from him similarly. 

“Last night?” Rey returned his concern with a questionable look.

“You mean to tell me that  _ you _ got engaged to someone  _ yesterday? You _ ?”

“Yes!” It took the snickering behind her to think about what Charles said, and why anyone would be laughing under the circumstances. “Wait,  _ what _ ?”

Charles repeated himself, only to make Rey blush impressively hard when she corrected herself. 

“I  _ did not _ hear that.”

“Obviously!”

Rey rolled her eyes and moved on to explaining the situation the best she could before showing him to her station. 

“So how far did you get?” he asked. 

“I’m three hours and twenty-one minutes in…”

“Of how long?”

“Five predicted hours.”

“Predicted?”

“It was left in the  _ change _ bin. I literally have no idea how long to look back, except for maybe that it happened today based on location in the tube.”

Charles put his hands up before Rey could get heated, pulled his chair up from the floor to scoot in again and offered his help, which was most appreciated. 

\---

Finding the vehicle took another hour, nineteen minutes and fifty seven seconds to find which, Maker if she only  _ knew that!  _ Rey groaned again.

“Oh, quit your complaining…” Charles said, pushing at her shoulder. “You found it, didn’t you?”

“Yeah,” she rolled her eyes, looking back at the monitor. “Looks like that’s the plate. I’m gonna run it…”

“Sure you don’t want me to? Your tech is—“

“Don’t insult my…”

“They aren’t yours, cupcake,” a voice rung out to silence her before leaving out the side door toward the booths. 

Again she grumbled, then allowed Charles to help. 

Moments, it had literally been moments, and he was back with a skip in his step!

“What?” Rey quirked her eyebrow at her friend. 

  
“Well, all good news, actually,” he started.

“Like, what kind of good news? They realized where it was thrown and are coming to pick it up?”

Charles snorted, “Not that good! But he does live in the city. Address has him in Midtown…”

“Well, that explains the size of the rock!” 

“Oh, shut it… you don't know if that thing is real…”

Rey grinned, “Wanna bet? There’s a machine downstairs that says otherwise.”

\---

Luckily, Charles was able to find his address and phone number, which was super helpful, or so she thought. At first, Rey called his line, making sure to write down everything she needed to say so that she didn't confuse herself, but it didn't exactly stave off the butterflies she’d felt build in her stomach waiting for someone she didn't even know to pick up, let alone appreciate her for saving his ass. But with the third call underway, Rey found herself letting the mysterious man know that she would try dropping it off with him instead. At first she found herself just blurting it out which, what the hell was she thinking? Dropping it off at some random person’s home? It wasn't like  _ home _ … it was the middle of the city… at someone else’s place. The fact that she brought it up made her nervous, and so she left it alone. 

A week passed with no response. No call. No expectation of delivered goods. Nothing. Which, to Rey was driving her insane. How could someone lose a ring  _ that size? _ It had to have cost several thousand dollars at least. At least! And Maker, Rey was not into the idea of losing that much on a silly mistake, so why would this guy? 

He’s probably beating himself up over it now, she thought.

That was it. 

She’d had enough of waiting. 

Finding the building was no trouble. Rey’d been down that way multiple times, trying out the back to back coffee shops and pizzerias, not together, of course. She found herself enjoying hot beverages around the same time she’d near her cycle, and pizza every other day she could get her hands on the flat breaded delights, and this place was near her frequents - which meant she would be stopping in for a bite somewhere as soon as she was done here. 

Her only problem now was that she’d been stopped at the door by the doorman, who had dismissed her as soon as he’d made eye contact with her. 

That’s nice, she rolled her eyes, then began speaking to him about the situation. 

“No,” the overdressed man spoke over her. 

“Excuse me?” Rey countered. “I must see him. Ben Solo. He’s made an awful costly mistake, and I’d like to be sure this gets to him immediately.”

The man eyed the box Rey had the ring in suspiciously before opening it to him. He’d curled his lips in distaste when she revealed the item, but did not budge. “It’s against the law to pay with another denomination in a  _ Change Only _ toll, even if the item is far more in monetary value…”

“I can't let you in to see Master Solo,” he paused, slowing Rey’s protest with a wave of his hand. “But I can tell you he isn't here.”

“And what? That I can wait for him to return?”

While she was sure that would have been his answer, the man scoffed, assuring her that he did not want that at all. “What I was going to offer was an address for another location, but if you’d rather wait--”

“I’d really rather not,” she countered, and the man smirked, then sort of took pity on her. She hadn’t been sure where the change came from, but Rey really wasn’t in the mood for more nonsense from him. 

“This is where he’s gone off to, but I warn you, it’s  _ not exactly  _ what city folk are used to.”

Rey rolled her eyes again, waiting to get a scribbled note of some sort of profanity. Maybe an example of where she could go stuff the ring, but instead looked down to find an actual place.

“Th-thank you,” Rey managed, only to get a curt nod and a door in her face.

\--- 

Ben felt the woman in his head once more, his head erupting for roughly five seconds or so with the burst of noise, and her voice saying something he couldn’t make out. He was once again flooding with a feeling of peace, or belonging, and he idly wondered why.

He couldn’t wonder for long, however, because he had a trip to pack for.

The object had been discovered by a farmer on the plateaus of Mozambique, and Ben had been called in to consult. With a doctorate in Astrobiology, Ben often consulted with other scientists when a foreign object fell to Earth, and this was no different. The search for life outside our solar system was one that had fascinated him since he was a child.

His mother hated it. She hated he devoted his life to proving alien life existed. The great Leia Organa, Senator and defender of the poor and downtrodden, thought he had to become a lawyer like her. She thought he should spend his time helping people less fortunate than him, rather than searching for life on other planets. Ben snorted, shaking his head as he pushed his mother and her derision out of his brain.

As he packed, he briefly wondered if the woman would think he was insane for what he did for a living. Why was she suddenly in his head? Even though it had been brief, he could somehow feel her there still, some cosmic kind of connection he had never experienced before.

He recalled reading a study done by a colleague, detailing out how soulbonds worked in society. Perhaps…

No, Ben couldn’t believe he had suddenly acquired a soulmate. Wouldn’t it have felt differently? Wouldn’t he just… know… where to find her? No… he was certainly suffering from the pain of Kaydel’s rejection, coupled with the whiskey he had imbibed.

As he packed, he sent out a plea to the Universe.  _ I believe there is other life out there beyond Earth… so please… if she is my soulmate, let me find her so I won’t be lonely anymore. _

\---

The damn ring was  _ calling _ to her, a siren song that Rey was finding harder and harder to ignore with every moment that passed. She had tucked it away in a box, which now rested on her kitchen table, but the whispers in her brain wouldn’t stop no matter what she did. She tried to watch television. She took a hot shower, staying under the water until her fingers pruned, only pausing it - but just barely.

The moment she got out of the shower, there it was… a hum in the back of her mind, almost imperceptible, but there nonetheless. With a sigh, Rey went to where the box rested, opening it and staring down at the ring within. With a sigh, she pursed her lips, going to the fridge and pulling out a bottle of water before going back to the table.

Reaching out, Rey caressed the ring gently, and once more, the noise erupted in her brain. Those eyes were there again, like molten chocolate and amber, paired with a deep voice that was trying to tell her  _ something _ \- but what?

Taking her finger off the ring, Rey huffed out an exasperated breath before saying, “Just who are you, Ben Solo? What is your story?”

\---

Ben had to be up at an ungodly hour to be at JFK for his flight to Africa, and he had just relaxed enough to doze when his head exploded with noise again, the same set of hazel eyes looking at him, followed by a soft voice that Ben thought he’d be able to recognize if he ever heard it on the street.

“Who are you?” He asked into the stillness of the night. “Where are you, and why can’t I hear you?”

Again, Ben found that he wasn’t upset or worried, merely curious to know the mystery woman in his head. Her eyes were captivating, and what he could hear of her voice, though distorted, led him to believe that she may be British. He thought about the glimpse of her he had just gotten, her finger stroking over something that was glittering as she looked at it. When she pulled her finger away was when his mind went black, and left him feeling slightly hollow and lonely once more.

“I need to find you…” Ben said into the darkness. “And I think you need to find me as well. I think we need each other… for whatever reason. You make me feel… complete, I think.” 

With a sigh, Ben settled back into his pillow, letting those eyes guide him to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He couldn’t get her eyes out of his mind, no matter how hard he tried.
> 
> Ben knew he was crazy, knew he shouldn’t be obsessed with a pair of damn eyes in his brain. He was a logical, practical man. A scientist. A professor. There was a reason for everything that happened.
> 
> Except, there was no logical reason he had come up with for a woman’s eyes and voice to just pop into his head. He had never met her, he was certain of that. He was certain he would remember those eyes and what little of her voice that he had been able to make out.

[ ](https://imgur.com/0CGzBKM)

She had researched just who Ben Solo was. It was obvious he had money - both from where he lived, and the fact that he had tossed away a ring that easily cost two grand. Rey wasn’t about to travel halfway across the world on just a whim, after all.

Or was she? 

Ben Solo, as it turned out, was a professor of Astrobiology at NYU. He had dedicated his life, in layman’s terms, to finding little green men and proving the existence of life on other worlds. Rey had snorted out loud as she read the bio provided by NYU. There was a grainy picture of him, as well, and Rey peered at the screen for a moment.

She had seen this man before, although she couldn’t recall just where. He was good looking, for sure, with a shock of dark hair and a set of eyes that she was sure could burn through a person if warranted. Rey stared at the photo for a while, trying and trying to place where she’d seen him. Surely, if she couldn’t get the ring back to him conventionally, she could possibly make a trip to NYU to deliver it to his office.

It was during one of her nights where her insomnia was flaring up that she realized where she had seen him before. She was laying in bed, flipping through the channels on tv when she saw his face swim into focus on her screen. It was some show on the History Channel that talked about how aliens have been around for centuries, and as the name ‘Kylo Ren - Astrobiologist and Alien Expert’ popped up underneath him, Rey paused the show and stared, jaw hanging open. Pulling out her phone, Rey went to the NYU faculty page she had been to the day before, her eyes dancing from the screen on her phone to the television.

It was definitely him. So - why did he use a pseudonym?

Rey let out a low chuckle before sliding out of bed and heading to the kitchen to get a bottle of water. The box containing the ring sat on her table still, and as Rey passed by it she stopped, staring at the box before answering the pull she felt deep within her and flipping it open, her finger caressing the diamond as she muttered, “I’m taking you back home soon…”

She should have known better. This had happened every time she touched the fucking ring - like it was cursed or something. Her head once again exploded with white noise - and this time, she recognized the eyes she saw flashing briefly in her head. It was him - Ben Solo, and he was once more trying to say something to her. She could make out broken, disjointed syllables, a “who”, “name” and “where”.

Rey pulled her hand finger away from the gem, panting as she shook her head to try and rid herself of what she had heard and seen. Because somehow, for whatever reason, she was hearing Ben Solo’s voice in her head every time she touched the ring, and it was definitely those soulful eyes of his she was seeing.

Why, though? Why was she having these strange visions? What did it all mean?

  
….

  
  


Of course it’s not down the street or even in the city itself. It’s, well it’s way out in Africa? Mozambique?

That bastard doorman was fucking with her. 

And yet, when she tapped out the actual address on her phone, researching it as she was, she got this  _ feeling _ . It had been the same one as when she picked up the ring - as if the place was calling to her. Her curiosity was spiking even more as she looked down at that little piece of paper. 

What was it he said? It wasn't a place for city folk? She tried to remember.

Rey dutifully steadied herself to make that leap of faith those talk shows are always going on about. If she was going to fix this situation, she was only going to manage it by showing up and handing the damned thing to him. 

And that's just what she did. 

Sure, she can still hear Charles going off about not wanting her to go alone, and that he could go if she waited another three days, but it just seemed wrong to make this guy wait. What if he was going crazy looking for it? Rey certainly felt crazy for holding on to it. It was like the item was possessed or something. She’d hear a sound, maybe two; words here and there, only to touch the box and silence it. 

Rey shook the nerves from her. It was all in her head. And maybe the rest of the scary novel she couldn't seem to put down. Usually she could handle all of what went bump in the night because she knew it was fake, but this was borderline straight jacket material. Finding herself ready to board a plane on a hunch that some guy might be at this other location… well, it seemed like an insane thing to put to chance, and even more so to allow some vision in her head to keep reminding her of too. 

Each step toward her seat made her more nervous. A drum in her ear seemed to sound, then someone’s voice, maybe his, kept guiding her onward. She sat in her seat as if she was under some spell, her carry-on stowed above her in one quick movement made by someone else, then she shuffled into her window seat unaware of the world around her until she was up in the air with no way to stop this crazy dream. 

  
. . . 

He couldn’t get her eyes out of his mind, no matter how hard he tried.

Ben knew he was crazy, knew he shouldn’t be obsessed with a pair of damn eyes in his brain. He was a logical, practical man. A scientist. A professor. There was a reason for everything that happened.

Except, there was no logical reason he had come up with for a woman’s eyes and voice to just pop into his head. He had never met her, he was certain of that. He was certain he would remember those eyes and what little of her voice that he had been able to make out.

He tried to throw himself into his work. The  _ object _ that had fallen into the field was definitely not something from Earth, and Ben was excited to throw his knowledge and skills into trying to prove that to the naysayers that would inevitably have ideas for where it came from.

After a long day in the field, all Ben wanted was a meal, a bottle of water followed by a beer and a shower. It had been years since he had been to Africa, and he had forgotten how oppressively hot it was.

As he stood in the shower, it happened again. The white noise, those beautiful hazel eyes, and the voice. Definitely female, definitely British. “Who are you?” Ben asked out loud, “What’s your name… and where are you?”

Ben could explain why aliens existed. He could theorize and prove for hours and hours why we weren’t the only sentient beings in the universe - but as he fell asleep that night - he realized he couldn’t explain whatever was happening to him.

….

  
  
  


Rey arrived in Africa a little worse for the wear. Her stomach turned at the sound of the voice she’d kept hearing - or so she thought. If it was a voice … shouldn't it have been her own? Not some man’s? Wouldn't that certify her for being justifiably crazy?

If she was though, would it be so bad to be in Africa, surrounded by its natural beauty, sparkling turquoise blue water and palm trees? 

Nah, she thought. Maybe it could be okay to knock back a few after getting the ring off to it’s rightful owner. Maybe then she would be rid of this insanity that followed her with it. 

While that may have been her plan, her body said otherwise. Being in a plane for sixteen hours was something she wanted to avoid doing again at all costs - and certainly made her crave laying in a bed immediately. 

Fine, she acknowledged the problem. Bed, then find the guy, then figure myself out. Rey’s hand waved at her head like she was exorcising the demons that clearly took shelter in her mind. 

  
. . . 

Sleeping is underrated. 

It is the absolute best. 

Anyone that says different is lying, she thought.

The message the doorman gave her about this not being the city rang in her ears once more when she went off in search of food. The hotel she’d been at was more like a motel, and the best they had to offer was a few spotted bananas and shredded wheat. Which, honestly, was fine. Rey had gotten by with far less and often, so she got up to take to the streets to find this new address when she heard his voice again. This time it was distant, oddly humming something between notations. They sounded like numbers. Like coordinates, and the more she listened, the more dedicated she was to take them down. 

It had been moments of listening to the sounds change in the blowing fan and jotting what she thought she heard here down before shrieking in the lobby. Several guests turned to look which embarrassed her further when they waved over the same place she’d - she’d seen him… in the fan. 

This wasn’t happening. 

No one can see a reflection in a fan - or air, for that matter. Maybe a television or glass, but not that. She repeated to herself that she wasn’t crazy over and over again back to her room - only to have the whispers chase her there. 

“WHAT DO YOU WANT?!” she screamed after closing her door. Who - or whatever - it had been had gone silent… but if she didn’t know any better  _ they _ were still in the room with her. Rey buried her face, trying to be sure it couldn’t see her. “This isn’t real,” she chanted into her pillow while trying to find the nerve to get back up again. 

“Water’ll help,” she heard someone whisper. 

Rey answered with a nod, getting up to process that information before squealing again. 

“This isn’t happening,” she repeated again. Rey grabbed what she needed and ran for it. 

The hotel was clearly haunted, and she needed out as soon as possible. Rey made her way out to the lobby, running as far as she could from it, ignoring everyone she passed until her phone updated her location with a chirp. Her sassy GPS told her that she -  _ could cut an hour and ten minutes off of her commute if she’d only take a car -  _ had pulled her back to reality. There was no way in hell she’d make it there and back on foot, and so she caved, finding the next available transportation to get her far out into the back-country. 

To her relief, that app was right, it was far easier to travel out to this stranger in the woods this way, giving her far more time to practice what she was going to say to this guy. Sure, she had a number, and in her gut she truly believed that it may have been Mr. Solo’s, but after her day she was not in the right mind to explain what happened to some stranger, especially not if it meant saying it made it come true. Instead Rey held the box tightly in both hands, praying that she’d find her guy and make this right so she could go back to living her sort of quiet life in the city. 

As the van came to a stop, Rey shimmied around people to get off before it started to move again. One thing was for sure here, she had to be quick, even if the world seemed far slower there. It was a weird combination, like South Jersey. 

Ben’s place was certainly not what she expected. Not from the standards that Mozambique’s shores had offered, and in no comparison to his place in the city. Not that it would be. It was more of a shack… sort of a bungalow? Rey questioned herself, trying to figure out if bungalow was that right word, only to quickly stop herself. She was only seconds from ending this, from getting her life back on track, she had to stay professional. She had to reach this guy. 

Rey reached towards the door to knock sharply on the face of it, calling attention to herself. All of a sudden she wondered what she was doing. What if Charles was right? What if he’s a crazy person? What if he thinks she’s a crazy person? She could run….

She should run…

But then the memory of those voices came back into her thoughts, furthering her need to go on. 

Her knuckles rapped on the door, calling to the person inside. 

A man’s voice told her to go away, asking if she could read before doing so. 

Read? What’d that have to do with anything? she wondered. Rey’s eyes darted around, looking for a keep out sign - but none had been found. 

“I’m sorry?” she questioned. 

“You should be,” he mumbled. 

“ _ Excuse you? _ ” Rey returned. 

“You heard me,” he continued. “Are you blind?”

If there was one thing Rey couldn't deal with, it was being blamed with incompetence. 

“No, I’m not  _ blind _ !” she heard the way his breath hitched when she began to raise her voice. It was like every other time she’d been yelled at when she was little. She made this stranger feel that way, and she promised never to let anyone else suffer through it for as long as she lived. And here she was doing it to him. Rey dropped her voice to a whisper, then placed her hand on the door, softly this time. “Are you alright?” she tried asking.

His silence said it all, promising he surely wasn't.

“You’re Ben Solo.  _ The Ben Solo _ ? The one I’ve been looking for… right?” 

His response came in gasps, she presumed they were sounds made in memory of something far more damning than asking if she found the man she’d been looking for. And yet that voice promised it was all it took. The item now entrapped between her fingers in the box she’d used to carry it there was only seconds from reuniting with its owner. He could calm down. Maybe even thank her for her kindness… and despite wanting to finish this, she couldn't help the need to be close. 

“I am,” his voice rumbled. “Who are you?”

“I, well. I don't suppose you got your messages did you?” she began carefully. His silence proved her right again. He never received any of her messages. There was a reason she came all the way out here, why she followed her gut. “I’m Rey Johnson. I work for the NYC tolls, just outside of the Lincoln Tunnel,” she said, backing up slowly as he opened the door to stand carefully beside it. 

He was impossibly tall, making her feel like a doll in comparison. His hair draped over his forehead, hanging far off of him - looking more like an abused mop rather than a hair style. His long face hidden under those inky strands stood in striking comparison, being as lightly toned as he was. The longer she looked, she could see his sprinkling of tiny moles kiss his face as if they’d been given to him by the stars themselves. Soon she found herself staring into wells of darkness, of which she could only see staring back at her well after he cleared his throat. 

Shit, was she staring with her… with her mouth hanging open? 

“You’re a long way from home,” she heard him say. 

Deflection. 

She’d heard it a million times, and had even been the reason for it, handling her own battles throughout her life.

“I am,” Rey said, trying to make herself feel stronger than she did. After a beat she explained herself. 

He looked at her incredulously for what felt like ages before he slammed the door, cursing like a madman behind it. 

“And you just came? Without knowing me? Without hearing from me? You just…”

“It felt right. Haven’t you ever felt like something had to be done because of your gut?”

_ And something chasing you _ , she refused to say. 

“Yes,” he cleared his throat, then continued. “But you’re wasting your time here. I don't want that thing! Take it, trade it in for whatever it’s worth and buy your way home. Consider it a recycled gift,” he snorted. 

“Ben,” she whispered through the door. “I can’t… I can't accept this… it’s far too much… and it wasn't for me. You, you should take it.”

“Rey,” he warned, trying to come up with the right words to say instead of covering her with his unchecked rage and pain from his heartbreak. But before he could, the girl had managed to wedge an envelope under his door, leaving the box where she’d stood before disappearing.

He listened to himself, against all rational thought, wanting to throw the items out, but Ben managed to open the envelope - seeing not only the ring stuffed in a sock within the envelope itself, but a small piece of paper shifted around inside of it, calling to him. 

Rey’s handwriting is some of the most awful he’d ever seen, and yet...her message was clear:

“Everyone deserves better, Ben. Find it or let it find you.”

. . . 

Ben had been deeply involved in writing out his notes and thoughts on the object they had discovered, as well as pouring over all the data they had collected when the knock sounded on his hotel room door. With an annoyed sigh, he stood, muttering to himself that he wished people would adhere to ‘Do Not Disturb’ signs when people hung them on their doors.

“Go away! Can’t you fucking read a sign on a fucking door?” 

Then, the voice carried through the wood and steel to him, and Ben took in a deep breath before answering, in his usual less than friendly way, even though his brain was working double time trying to process what he was hearing. Then, she spoke again, and Ben gasped out loud as his brain came to a stuttering halt with the realization of who was on the other side of the door.

_ It was her. The voice he heard in his head. _

He opened the door, his eyes meeting the hazel ones he hadn’t been able to get out of his brain for almost two weeks now.

Ben had never been good with people, and as he slammed the door in her face a few moments later, almost panting from the exertion of trying to stay calm, he watched as an envelope slid under the door. After a few moments, he opened the door, eyeing the ring box for a moment before picking up the envelope and opening it to read the message within: “Everyone deserves better, Ben. Find it or let it find you.”

He stared at the paper for a moment before looking up. Did he deserve a connection like the one he felt with Rey? Did he deserve to be able to stare into her eyes like he had a few moments ago, to feel like his heart and soul were finally whole and he had found the one person he was meant to be with?

Ben looked down the hall before sprinting down it towards the parking lot, sending the ring box skittering across the floor and into the door of the room across from his with a thunk.

“Rey!” He bellowed out, skidding across the lobby as he saw her just outside the glass doors of the hotel, starting down the sidewalk. He blasted through the doors forcefully enough that he was shocked nothing was broken.

“Rey!” He shouted again, relieved to see her turn around and stop walking away from him. Ben jogged towards her, coming to a stop before her. “I…” Ben put his hand on the back of his neck, letting out a sigh. “I’m not good with people. I’m sorry. Would you have dinner with me tonight? You came all this way, and I’d like to say thanks somehow.”

Rey blessed him with a bright smile, nodding her head. “I’d like that, Ben.”

….

Rey couldn’t believe she was here. A half a world away from the hustle and bustle of New York - in  _ Africa _ . Even more unbelievable was the fact that she came here to deliver a ring to a man she had never met - who no longer even wanted the ring!

There wasn’t a doubt left in her mind that Ben Solo had been the voice and eyes in her head every time she touched that diamond, though. As they shared a quiet dinner together, Rey told him about how she had tracked him down, and Ben was still amazed she had gone to such lengths to find him.

Who did that, after all?

They strolled back to his hotel, settling onto the couch next to each other and arguing about what movie they should watch - and that’s when it hit Rey.

She was arguing with a man she had only met three hours ago about what movie to watch in his hotel room in Mozambique - and she was completely and utterly comfortable with him. Time seemed to slow as Rey reached out, grabbing his hand and twining her fingers in his before leaning in and planting a kiss on his cheek.

She felt something change inside her, twisting and rearranging until a feeling of completeness washed over her. It was like nothing she had ever felt before, and she was quite certain it had everything to do with the man sitting next to her, blushing furiously and looking at her with a bewildered look on his face.

Ben felt Rey’s fingers twine through his, and something inside him, deep inside in places he never even knew existed, twisted and settled into place. He knew, without a doubt, that the woman sitting next to him was meant to be with him for the rest of his life.

“Do you feel it?” Rey breathed out, lost in the bubble the world had decided to create for just them for some reason.

“Yes,” Ben whispered back, his eyes searching hers.

“I… I heard you. Every time I touched that ring, I heard you. I couldn’t understand what you were saying, though. I saw you, too… your eyes. Just a glimpse of your eyes and your hair. But I know it was you. I just don’t know why… or how.” Rey couldn’t take her eyes off his, her fingers still intertwined with his.

Ben swallowed hard before speaking, his brain still processing what she had said. “I heard you, too. Saw your eyes. I couldn’t understand you, either. But I know it was you, too. I… I don’t handle people well. Never have. But this… being with you… seems so natural.”

“Yeah,” Rey said. “It is.” Rey had never been the type of person who believed in love at first sight, or karma or soulmates. All of those concepts sounded like New Age mumbo jumbo to her, like something the hippie Bohemians with their organic, vegetarian diets and fancy Starbucks lattes believed in. Whatever was going on between her and Ben was simply human attraction. She was attracted to him on some primal level - apparently he felt the same, since he was shifting closer to her on the couch, one of his arms circling around her to draw her closer to his side. She scooted into his side, leaning over to rest her head on his shoulder.

He was so warm, and he smelled delicious.

She shouldn’t be feeling so comfortable with him. Of course, she shouldn’t have flown around the world just to deliver a ring to him, either. Officer Bacca would definitely be giving her an earful when she got back to New York. She didn’t blame him, this was not in character for her in any way, shape or form.

  
  


. . . 

Mozambique is no New York City. Not in lights or sounds, but it certainly tries, and she can give the smaller scale city credit for it. 

What was that remark Ben’s doorman gave her before sending her on her way? 

Where Ben was wasn’t for city folk like her…

Rey scoffed at the memory. That man couldn't possibly know where Ben truly was, or what she’d encountered so far. This city was unlike her city, that was for sure on her walk back to her hotel. She spied ordinary families going on with their adaptive lifestyles, packs of men and women still traveling together up and down the streets. Some dressed as though they were getting off of their shifts, others as though they were going club hopping - which Rey couldn’t truly be bothered with, although being out here on her own did burn a little. It hurt not belonging to anyone in a way that made them feel the need to keep her around. 

She wondered what it would be like to be on the arm of someone special, dressed in something far fancier than her toll uniform to be out on the town - or better yet - still in her pajamas, camping with her guy--whoever he may be, under the stars, comfortably chatting about anything at all. As they passed Rey breathed a sigh of discontentment. One that could only remind her how lonely she was, and that's when she felt it. The slightest caress of a foregin object runs along the flowing loose fabric of her t-shirt, catching just below the clasp of her bra. 

A quick thrill of panic runs through her, awakening the bond yet again. This time there was no ring, no way for her to assume there had been some cosmic force binding her wants with stress. This time it was all her. She could see Ben, clear as day, surging to his feet, his dark hair whipping around as he searched for something. He looked as though he’d been set into some kind of panic, one mirroring hers, and when all she could do was whisper her fear, his eyes locked with hers and were gone. 

. . . 

Ben was going to kill him. 

He felt her panic race through him as if he had been on that street corner. Ben knew where she was, knew every step of the city, and raced to make it to her. She’s not far, he knows, but just because she wasn't didn't mean it wouldn't take a matter of seconds to rip the last remaining shred of life he desperately wanted to hold onto out of his life. Mozambique was notorious for that. People were more capable there than anywhere else he’d been, and Rey, he shook his head, looking for anything to wield as a weapon, she was the last person that deserved it. 

She came for him, without knowing him, without needing a reward. Rey came for him. She wanted to do right by him, even if she wasn't his. No woman had ever been so true, not to him… and still he challenged her. He gave her an out… several of them in fact - and she took none.

Ben huffed through his memories as they skated through his visions. Her eyes… her smile… her voice sang to him through each city block, only getting louder and louder until he heard her cry. A sickening sound of bone hitting flesh, then another slap of sorts rang through his ears - which had been drowned to silence from his own rumbling growl. 

He lunged forward to crowd Rey’s falling form, her bag snatched back from the guy who mugged her in mid-air, the fastest his reflexes had ever moved in the history of his life. Part of him was glad for it, but that still meant the man had been attached and ready to put down yet another American for the treasures in that bag. 

In the corner of his eye, he watched as Rey ambled her way back to her knees, still pulling in oxygen in a painfully obvious way that made him assume that maybe her injuries were far worse than their bond showed. It made him furious. More so than he had been when he left his place to rescue her. That bag of meat would be reduced to less than he was, Ben promised her with his lips sealed and hulking form ready to strike. 

Ben heard her gasp, surely in surprise, then fear washed over him. She’d been worried--he could feel her. Rey was scared for him as his defensiveness became his offensive. The man who had attacked her suddenly had her sympathy - making him take a step back. He worried his lip, wondering if he took it too far, only to be at the receiving end of a few powerful punches - landing one in his gut that knocked him down. Another fist landed lighter, but still enough to split his lip, and the final one he felt was one to his eye socket which blurred his vision just enough to miss the darkened figure fly in front of him, giving him aid. 

It was the last time he’d felt the man’s fists at his flesh, but it certainly made him flinch when she came back into view.

Rey’s tears rained from her cheeks to his, cooling him in a way - but heating him in another. 

“Why did you take pity for that scumbag?” Ben asked bitterly.

“What?” Rey asked, she frowned and let her hovering fingertips - which died to touch him - fall to her sides.

“You wanted me to stop. Why?” He moved to stand silently, expecting an answer. 

“Did you come for me, or to beat a man to death, Ben? Because if it’s the latter,” she shakes her head at him before continuing, “I want no part in this.”

“You were being mugged, I saw it— I felt you, your pain.” Ben strained to open his swelling eye, trying desperately to keep her safe now. He moved ungracefully, searching for where he knew she’d been struck. His fingers brushing against the hem of her shirt to lift it right there where she stood in the streets - only to feel her move away from him. 

“How did you know?” Rey huffed out her question, already assuming their connection went further than good deeds. 

_ “I know you feel this _ . I  _ feel _ you, so you must  _ feel _ me…” Ben’s voice trailed off, his shoulders dipped slightly, making it painfully obvious that he needed a safe place to lay his head. 

“C’mon,” Rey said, purposely not answering this question here. 

Instead, she led him down several blocks, all the way back to her hotel room. She ignored the group that stared them down in the lobby, and rushed them to the elevator, where she pressed his frame up against the nearest wall, wincing as she went. 

“Ben?” Rey asked. “I need you to hear me,” she coached him along. 

It felt like an out of body experience to have someone take care of him as she was. He couldn’t remember a single time, well no, there had been several other times he felt like this, where his head felt weighted, his body sagged and he still managed to get home or lie down on his own. Kaydel, his memory hisses at the thought of her name, she may have got him away from his desk at home, or out of his shoes and jacket where he’d flopped on his bed, but she’d never linger. Rey, on the other hand, kept herself close. She felt like a lover pressed up against him as she was. Her standing frame held him up despite his buckling body. Rey was soft and strong all at once - and made him feel like she could be so much more. 

He hummed at her closeness, but lost it in her alarm. 

“I need you to stay with me,” she spoke clearly, but his mind quieted her. “Ben?”

Shit.

. . . 

This is not how she thought this day was going to go, and yet she’s managed to meet and argue with the man she’d been seeing in her dreams, not to mention be rescued by him. Whatever this was with him, with them, needed to be figured out. She needed to know why she kept seeing him, sensing him… but now? Now she had to figure out how to move him from the elevator to her room without breaking her back. Ben easily looked like he was two fifty, maybe more, of solid muscle which, while she thought she was strong, knew she wouldn’t be able to move him if he collapsed. 

_ Gym… _ she thought,  _ I’ve gotta get back to that if this is going to be a usual thing. _

Rey snorted at herself. Being in Africa was  _ not _ going to be a normal thing. Being mugged was  _ not _ a normal thing either, but possibly being around Ben could be, even if they wound up just friends, she wouldn’t be the type to let him fall. Her lips pressed into a firm line trying to figure out how she’d roll him out onto her floor. 

It was a battle to say the least. Thankfully her room had only been several doors down, and he held on, stepping on her feet all the way there. 

_ One day… this will be funny _ … she thought. 

But right now it wasn’t. Not one part of her thought it could be in the next ten years or more. Right now, holding Ben up looked a lot more like she was being eaten by some fleshy monster. The thought didn’t strike her as odd either. While Ben Solo certainly had been very attractive, surely to many, his work could be considered monstrous. Chasing aliens through the galaxy seemed so to some at least, but the more she thought of it, of their connection, the less she truly felt like she had a handle on what was out there. What if something was altering them? What if more was coming? What if he was one chasing his own tail? That last one made her chuckle loudly, calling the attention of others to her, only to make her look everywhere else but at them. 

Several whispered around her. None asked to help, while another blatantly called him a thankless drunk making his woman carry him home, but hadn’t stopped to help. To that, Rey let loose several of Officer Bacca’s rants, forgetting that she had hold of  _ the _ Ben Solo…

The man above her chuckled in her distress, promising soundly that he’d carry her for the rest of his life if he had the chance. 

“I second with the other guy,” Rey snorted. “You’re drunk on bloodlust…”

“I wouldn’t call it that,” Ben interrupted. 

“Oh good, you are functioning,” she calls attention back to her predicament. “Why don’t you use your body properly and hold yourself so I can get this door open.”

Rey could only groan at her choice of words, and hope he didn't cringe the way she was. It was certainly not the image she wanted to be projecting to him, yet...er… no. This thing couldn't be happening, could it? This thing that kept bringing them together. It didn't make sense, and yet, Rey flew over the facts all over again, reminding herself that it was happening, he did come to her rescue, and they were getting ready to nurse each other back to health like her all time favorite movie Beauty and the Beast. 

Again, not something she wanted to allow him to know, not yet at least… so she stomped it right down into the depths of her mind, allowing other thoughts to roll in to the forefront of her mind like waves in an endless sea. 

“Um, yeah,” he answered quietly, leaning himself against the wall as she had asked.

Rey inserted and removed her card several times before realizing her door was on the opposite side of the hall. 

“Gods give me strength--and _ I don't mean more tests, _ ” she grumbled, moving their party of two across the hall in silence. 

Ben was remarkably quiet through the transition. If it was Officer Bacca, she was sure he would be teasing her relentlessly, but Ben stayed quiet. Maybe he knew a thing or two, she lifted an eyebrow at the thought. 

“I thought my mother was the only person who said that,” he mumbled while moving to slide down the door. 

“Said what?” Rey sighed, wondering how she was going to move him now. 

Why did he have to sit there? He couldn't just get to the toilet? Or better yet, her bed? 

Why did the thought of him in her space fluster her so? She was in his earlier, feeling oddly confident and less skittish there. She imagined that it could be that this wasn't the true reflection of herself, this room, with it’s typical cookie cutter style space that surely mirrored every other room in the building aside from the suites or double bedded options. Her place at home was cozier despite not ever really living there, her shoulders fell forward in defeat. Rey pushed this idea further into her mind like the one before, burying it in the seas below. 

Only forward, she reminded herself. Only forward. 

“Said what you did in the hall about not wanting anymore tests,” he said, rolling his head against the door. 

Rey frowned at the sight of him doing that, wondering if her room was the right place to take him. Did they need to go to the emergency room? 

“My mother used to say that. Guess I drove her nuts always talking about space and possibilities of invasions…” he shrugged and leaned only harder on the door. 

Rey bit her finger nail and tried to think past that, past his topic of conversation to handling their current situation. She’s sure that going back to guiding him as she was, wasn't going to help him. He’d never get up. Not for a command. Not for care… but maybe for comfort. If he’d been so threatened by losing a woman he just met that day, would that be how she could measure his life’s work? Could she be the link between his beliefs and the remainder of society who couldn't stop to believe him? Would it be enough to lift him back to his feet so that she could help Ben? Maybe it wouldn't help in the same caliber… she rolls her eyes at herself. Ben did save her life and all, she looked at him and then to the bed once more before trying her theory.

. . . 

“So, what made you pick Africa?” Ben hears her angelic voice over the throbbing pulse drumming around his eye. “It’s beautiful - peaceful, that is, besides what happened tonight.”

Ben tried to blink, straining against the swollen skin around his eye, forcing it closed. What made him pick Africa? What was it? He knew why he came. It had only been the most coveted place, still remotely undiscovered by researchers such as himself. “Well.” he started to speak and rolled to the side to get his bearings straight. 

Ben groaned while he shifted around on the floor, looking to hold anything he could to stand. His hand slipped off of furniture, and even the door handle before finding her arm. She’d come to his rescue again, but this time, she’d looked at him differently now. Unguarded. Dare he say, truly interested in what he had to offer. 

Did she like that? Did she really want to know what it was he’d been there for?

“I read your book,” she offered quietly, as if it were a sign of peace, not pretending.

“You did?” he asked incredulously.

“I, yes,” she replied, offering a nod towards her bed for him to sit. “It was a long flight.”

“Oh,” Ben happened to feel a little deflated when she added that, thinking that it was just to pass the time.    
  
“I couldn't put it down after the third chapter, Ben, is it all theory? Or are there other quadrants we need to be aware of, places where the Eye doesn’t reach?”

Not many knew about the Eye. He’d researched it for years, and only came up with a few researchers who claimed the Eye were a series of wormholes not even NASA had the power of locating. They would come into the galaxy, opening up quadrants expected to be trillions of miles away and dumping them as close as Saturn - if not Mars - for moments in time. 

It would only take mere moments to change what they knew if one ever managed to make it to Earth… again all theory, except for what had been found as shards thrown about in a recent meteor shower, littering the jungle with extraterrestrial microorganisms with the potential of altering life as they knew it.

“Is all of that true?” Rey asked, her hazel eyes flicking up to his, hypnotizing him as if he’d been staring into pools of honey, well, that he could see anyway. She looked sweeter now than she did at his place, more willing to explore his interests now, or was it him? Was it that he could feel his walls dropping? Kaydel never asked him about his research, or his theories. She never stood like this without falling to her knees to help him take the edge off, when all he really needed was someone to talk to. 

“I think it could be,” he whispered. “I don't study that far into space. Sure, we have an idea of what's out there, and with what comes back from field missions, but most of what I find falls from space. I guess you could say I like the destruction and promise of new beginnings.”

Rey nodded, then moved to settle him on the edge of the bed. 

“New beginnings sound lovely,” Rey nodded, then asked him to wait there. 

“Where are you going?” he asked all too quickly. 

“Well, you’ve split your lip, Ben,” Rey blinks back what he can only assume are tears, but couldn't accept that they might be for him. “And your eye is simply the darkest shade of purple I’ve ever seen.” He heard her gasp, then watched her hand fly up to her lips to hide it. 

“That bad?” he managed to ask, trying to make her lighten up. When was the last time he tried to do that, anyway?

“What did he hit you with anyway, Ben?  _ It clearly wasn't his fist _ .”

Ben shook his head just enough to make some sort of debris fall from his cheek. He looked down at it’s murky clay coloring then back to her, who’s worry out weighed dirt falling from his face. 

“I’m not sure. A brick, possibly?” he groaned. It felt like a brick. Porous though… his palm followed the unseen path it took from his cheek to the bed and started to wipe it off, apologizing as he went. 

“Wait! No,” Rey reached out her hand, separated by the space in her room. “Don’t touch it!”

Startled by her, he raised his hands like he was being arrested to prevent any more yelling.

“For a scientist, you don't always think like one,” Rey pointed out, grabbing a mug on top of her refrigerator. He watched as well as he could with amusement when she dusted off the samples to their mugging into the same cup, and reminded him to look before he swallowed, making him do so in response. 

_ Where has this girl been all his life? _

She returned it to the small dry bar over the refrigerator, then helped herself to the chilled water bottles within it. One she opened to take a sip from, then used a good portion to soak into two washcloths. One she rang out and the other she let sit in a new mug with extra water and put it back in the fridge. 

Rey moved carefully towards him as if she wasn’t sure if she should clean him up for him, or let him do it. Ben was glad to feel her standing before him, between his parted legs to softly cradle his chin while she dabbed the cloth around his jaw and to clean him up. She was softer with every dab leading up to his split and swollen lower lip. Each of her little presses made him more vulnerable than the last, making him want to press his cheek further into it to kiss her palm.

He was gone for her. 

His hand traveled timidly from his lap to her side, bracing himself as she went. A shaky sigh left her lips when she asked if he could stay the night. 

“I’d feel safer if you did,” she paused, continuing on to cleanse the rest of his face. “And I’d rather you not go out either, Ben. Not like this. Not vulnerable,” she shook her head.

He attempted to nod in agreement, but winced the second he did. His head felt full and painful as he moved. 

When the cool water on the slightly ragged cloth kissed the ridge of his hairline he felt as though he’d been resurrected. He could  _ feel _ again. Rey made a few gentle passes there, then shifted. Her hand that held his chin moved through his hair to cradle the back of his head for support, he thought, but hoped more could come from this. 

“I can draw you a tub if you’d like in the morning,” she started. 

“Why the morning?” he hummed his question. 

Rey sighed, but then laughed when she replied, “I don’t truly think you’ll make it in there without falling, big guy.”

“I could, so,” he retorted, looking to get up, but her hand was firm, keeping him in place. 

“I don’t think so, not tonight. I don’t think the paramedics would want to retrieve you in all your naked glory in the event that you pass out and need medical attention,” she giggled. 

“No I guess not,” his face flamed, only growing hotter when he asked her aloud, “Did you just call me hot?”

Rey sucked in a breath, and her bottom lip went along with it. 

_ She did! _

He couldn’t help the joy he had in his heart. It filled to the brim, ready to overflow, but the thought of her leaving hit him harder. 

“When’s your flight tomorrow?” Ben asked, clearing his throat. His good eye was open wide to her, like that of a hopeful puppy’s. 

“Late afternoon,” she paused, clarifying her time being “Three, I'll have to be there at like twelve, though.”

“I don’t understand why you’re leaving so soon. Many have to wait weeks to get adjusted before going back.”

“I don't have the luxury, Ben.”

“But what if you did?”

“I can’t, couldn't… my job…”

“You wouldn't have to worry about it. You’d be here, with me…” he rushed out.

“I’m a  _ toll booth operator _ , Ben. My funds would be dried up in six months without work here.”

“What if you didn’t have to work?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, no one has that lifestyle. Everyone has to work.”

Ben shot her the best look he could despite his current state before explaining that she was clearly not reporting on a large percentage of people living on the land and off of free handouts. He’d received an unbudging stern look from her, only to hear her sigh. 

“Yes, I overlooked that in my statement, but it doesn’t mean I’m alright with being some… some… caught in the wind floozy, ready to change everything I know at the drop of a hat…”

“But you did,” Ben interrupted, then flinched. “Not to say you’re easy in any way. That’s not it,” he rushed out. “What I meant to say is you left. You sought change. You found me based on your own intuition. You were ready for this. Please, Rey. Don’t go home… not yet.”

. . . 

Rey was one to do the best she could to do the right thing whenever she could. There was a bigger plan out there for her, she knew, but this was such a change. What would Charles say? What would….well, the staff wouldn't necessarily miss her the way a family would, but they were hers even if they weren’t truly hers. What would she do? She grimaced at the thought of being in this position again. Well, not this one, where she’s caring for Ben Solo, keeper of her insanity, to which she thinks he snorted at. This “bond” they shared since earlier in the evening was such a new concept for her. Being soulbound to another was the thing of fairy tales. 

Not even his science theories could truly prove this to another being. Their connection was that of the mind and body. It was how they knew each other’s features, their sounds, their voices. It was how she essentially met him without meeting him. How does one even have that conversation? Rey rolled her eyes thinking about how on earth she would explain that to Charles. A cop… Officer Bacca, as silly as he was, he was a cop. One that swore an oath to protect the people and the city. How would she tell him that she found her soulmate by way of that huge ass ring caught in her counter?

The image of which came into her mind. Ben claimed he could take care of her. As thrilling a thought that it was that someone would want to, it didn't make it any less selfish to allow a perfect stranger to take her in like this.

“Do you think we can just give this some time?” Rey whispered while dabbing the cloth just below his darkened socket. 

Ben’s hope seemed to drain from him, sagging onto her bed as he went. He had nothing left to give to the conversation it seemed, like his attitude had been held up on strings. 

“I’m not saying no, Ben,” she sighed at his expression. “But it isn't a yes, either. Let me learn you, learn this, whatever it is. Please, just give me time.”

Ben closed his eyes in defeat. 

This time it gave Rey a real chance to look him over, one without his warm gaze flicking back in her direction. Ben was intense. That was for sure. But she supposed maybe he needed to be. Maybe he needed to in order to keep his audience. Maybe he needed to because people had waved him off his whole life. She checked back over her shoulder for the odd clay they’d collected in her room together, remembering how excited he’d gotten when he spoke about his work at dinner. He’d gone into detail with her as if she was his partner, and she felt so inclined to add to it, and he hadn’t turned her down. Her ideas were valid… and now she’d done the opposite to him because of her own fears…because of what people would say. 

The trouble was that she knew Charles would send a search party. There were preparations she needed to take. Ones that made sure that the states didn't think she was dead somewhere, or blame the last person she’d made contact with. Ben. He didn't need that, she thought, lifting her eyebrows as she went. 

She looked over his huge form, deciding that she could no longer move him up into her bed without trying to wake him. Instead, she found herself pulling pillows towards him to help him stay comfortable, then scooted off the bed to pull his legs up and swing them onto the rest of the king sized bed. He looked like an oversized child there the way she had him, decorating the mattress, but that being said she couldn't leave him like this. What if he rolled over? He’d fall. Rey looked around her room only to find an extra blanket and pillow in her closet. 

Well, shit, she thought, still bunching them up at the corner, just behind his head. Her last possible thought was to curl up next to him to make sure she didn't, but that was a territory she had no business in. 

Sure, she thought he was handsome.

Sure, they sort of did something similar after dinner at his room… but it wasn't quite the same. Rey smiles at the memory. He was so close. Could she really call what he’d done cuddling? She rolls her eyes, trying to tame the sound of “oohs” teasing her as if she’d been back at home. But could it have been? He was so soft with her and her with him, sort of like she was being now. Would she have given the same care to a stranger? She isn't sure. Ben, though, he was different. He held a special place in her heart, even now in the depth of her worry, Rey found he wouldn't turn her away. Not like the first time, not when he was trying to shut out the world. But now since they touched, now she truly couldn't feel alone. Not that she wanted to, but he was there, even when he wasn't.

Even on the street.

Even when he’d given and taken a beating to protect her… and so she let herself feel this. Rey could protect him from himself, from falling. 

She crawled in beside him, hushing him as she went. Rey moved his arm to cross his chest so she could drape hers around his torso, but looked between them to gauge the enormous gap still between them. This was not going to work. 

Instead she rolled over, backing up into him before draping his large arm over her instead. At least this way, while tucked into this pocket, she could feel him move, she could tether him to her to keep him from falling… it could work…

It could.

And then in the warmth of his shell she imagined a world of protection she never knew she needed. How could she leave this? How could she leave him?

Just after she asked her internal questions, she felt him move, encircling her, pulling her ever closer to him before she allowed herself to sleep. 

…. 

Ben had never been able to sleep well. Ever since he was a small child, he had been plagued with nightmares. More often than not, he would wake in a cold sweat, panting and frantically reaching out for something in the darkness.

Sleeping next to Rey, though, with his arms encircling her small frame in his, Ben had slept better than he ever had before. He didn’t have nightmares, or even bad dreams, and he had slept the entire night without waking.

When he did wake, it was to Rey’s back to him, his arms encircling her and holding her close to him, their hearts beating in sync. He had never felt such a sense of  _ rightness _ as he did here in this moment, holding her close and knowing that, whatever happened in the future, she would somehow be a part of it.

She stirred in his arms, turning to face him, one eye opening to gaze at him sleepily. “You’re really cute. Too bad I have to leave today.” Her face immediately turned red as she opened her other eye, pulling away from him and leaving him feeling cold and lonely as she got out of the small bed. “I am so sorry. I never should have said that.”

“Rey… it’s okay. Please.” Ben looked at her with an eye still swollen and bruised from his encounter with her would be mugger. Rey hadn’t had to take care of him like she did - but she had. Ben knew she was feeling it, too, the pull to each other. He knew, in his very soul, that she was meant to be with him.

“No, it’s not okay, Ben. Look… I like you. You’re nice and kind and handsome and smart… but this…  _ whatever _ it is… it’s not me. I don’t fly across the world just to deliver a ring to someone I have never met before, all because the fucking thing screams at me whenever I touch it.” Rey was pacing across the small room now, her hands gesturing wildly. “You’re working in  _ Africa _ right now, and you have no idea for how long. So it’s better… you know… if we just… don’t talk anymore. I need to protect myself.”

Ben just stared at her for a few long moments, the area under his left eye twitching as he tried to contain all the feelings inside him from bursting forth. Finally, he managed a curt nod before pulling himself off the bed and grabbing his keys off the small table near the door. “Thanks,” he finally said as he put his hand on the door knob to open it. “For helping after last night. I appreciate it. Have a safe flight home.”

When the door closed behind him, Rey stared at the door for a long time, feeling truly lost for the first time in a long time.

The bored front desk attendant handed her a folded slip of paper when she checked out. As she waited for the taxi she had called to show up, Rey opened it up, reading the perfectly scripted handwriting and feeling even more lonely for some reason.

_ You’re right. I do deserve better. And I’ve found that in you. -B _


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The flight back was painful. 
> 
> It was absolutely horrendous, actually. Surprisingly though, it wasn’t her company. She found she didn’t mind the passengers on this flight so much, being that they gave her something to watch that rarely made her think of Ben. 
> 
> But when she could ignore one wave, the next would come back to rock her mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it has taken us so long to update! The next chapter is in progress!!!! 
> 
> Enjoy!

[ ](https://imgur.com/0CGzBKM)

The flight back was painful. 

It was absolutely horrendous, actually. Surprisingly though, it wasn’t her company. She found she didn’t mind the passengers on this flight so much, being that they gave her something to watch that rarely made her think of Ben. 

But when she could ignore one wave, the next would come back to rock her mind. 

When it would, even the way she moved was throwing her back into her memories. Tilting her head back in the head rest was trouble because she could see his warm caring eyes looking down into hers. Holding herself under a blanket had to stop because she was sure she could feel his long thick fingers rest on her hips. The more it happened, the more often she’d open her note, the one that had been left for her and felt a sharp pain through her chest every time. 

But it was no use now. She couldn’t escape the flight already being in the air.

Much of the rest of the day went the same. Several taller men from other flights wound up taking turns standing next to her while waiting for their bags at the baggage claim carousel, all of which got several checks over her shoulder. Several TSA workers had stopped their usual circuits to make eye contact with her, presumably about her poor socially awkward behavior. 

Rey was literally one more spooked set of eyes away from being questioned, she could feel it, but she could have sworn she felt Ben too.

It’s just, just nerves, she kept telling herself. Nerves, yeah. And hunger pains, but there was no way she’d be ordering anything here. Instead she pulled it together for long enough to know she didn’t even need to be there but her heart hammered in her chest, trying to come up with a way not to be taken down here, in public, for no reason at all, only to be shown on channel two news. CBS did not need to see her dazed and confused and fully covered on the large tiled floor.

Not only would she not live it down, her place of work would be a nightmare to be in what with every last person in the tri-state area recognizing her, going, “Hey, aren’t ya the…? Yeah, look who it is?” All the while Officer Bacca would be prying every little fact of her outing from her. Even thought it would be funny in hindsight that his seven foot figure would be trying to stuff himself in her workspaces for more information and never letting her come up for air until he got all he wanted, cross checked her and had an entire file to do a follow up story would be considered a family sort of move, for someone to care that much and that might not be bad… but while she’s in the moment, she decides against any more odd movements. 

Getting home and being home were two different adventures. 

Her cab driver was insane, and something could be said for his overuse of curses, but it did keep her mind off of things for a while. It was certainly the shortest drive she had, too, and she wondered why he’d gone about it that way. Usually cabs were known for taking their time and running their meter, not that she’d taken many, but this trip was far different than what she expected. 

Being home was something else, too. Without the ring harassing her for her touch, it felt oddly bare. It was like being in an apartment that didn’t belong to her. Most of the day, she found herself heading back and forth to the roof just to pass the time. 

It didn’t though. 

Not really. 

When time was unusually slow she’d think about going to work even though she didn’t need to be there until tomorrow. And while she had ample time to reflect on what had just happened over the last couple days, she couldn’t. She just found herself listening to the world around her. 

Her mind weaved her way backwards around what had transpired so far while caught in the ambience of all of it.

Why could she feel him like that in the plane? 

Why could she leave him like that the morning after? 

Why does she still hold on to the thought that the ring was doing it? 

Does it make her crazy? 

By the time the evening had come, Rey groggily made her way back to her room. This too, is bare. Cold, even. The thought of it is unnerving. How could a space feel like home one day and not the next? 

Was it because of Ben?

It couldn’t be, she thought.

What was happening then, if it wasn’t him or some connection? 

Was she losing it?

Did it matter?

Maybe it didn’t. The time she spent with Ben wasn’t awful. She rolled her eyes, recounting the story before her eyes drooped closed and settled in for sleep. 

——

He couldn’t get her out of his mind. 

Ben had tried. He’d tried meditation, drinking until he passed out - which he would never do again in his life, since his head had pounded for three straight days afterwards - journalling, which had been a disaster in its own right. How do you write about a woman you barely knew and how she had come into his life like a damn tornado, leaving him just as quickly and making him feel completely off balance?

Because he was off balance. He had so much work to do, but it felt like his head was a million miles away. Every moment spent in the field was a moment he was spending without Rey. When had he come to need her so badly? It was like a piece of him was missing, like he wasn’t complete right now without her there.

It was madness. Clearly. Maybe brought about by dehydration. It was blazingly hot out here, after all. Ben took a long drink from his water bottle before adjusting the khaki baseball cap on his head and mopping the sweat off his face with the buff around his neck.

Sighing, Ben went back to work, trying to focus on the task at hand and not Rey.

….

Thankfully, Ben had finished his work in four days, leaving the rest of it to a team sent in by his department head at the University. He had somehow managed to keep his head in his work during the day, but at night - well, at night the loneliness hit him.

Had he always been this lonely - even with Kaydel? What was it about Rey that made it seem like a minute without her by his side was a year?

The flight back to New York was the worst, between turbulence and a sweaty, stinky hippie sitting next to him who insisted on reading his palm and telling him he would have a lengthy life, blessed with love and children. Ben just huffed and rolled his eyes before putting in his earbuds and listening to podcasts until he fell asleep.

Being back home was insufferable, as well. Ben threw himself into his work, sitting in his office on campus until midnight some nights. He knew he should just resolve himself to the fact that Rey didn’t feel the same - but Ben knew that sometimes you had to fight for things you wanted - and he wanted Rey.

Even if she only wanted to be his friend. He just wanted her in his life.

Glancing at his watch, Ben packed his things into his messenger bag to take home before making his way to the subway to head home. He had a plan, and hopefully, the next day he would finally have an answer from Rey.

  
  
  


It’s been a week, and Rey’s finally sort of with it. While she still feels disconnected from this life, she’s had Officer Bacca distract her from her thoughts with their big story. Apparently a main broke several blocks down from the turn into the tunnel and gave her fellow workers a break. Traffic before it was miserable, and somehow managed to move emergency vehicles within the bus lane coming from the Port Authority itself. It sounded like enough to keep him from asking what she did on her time off, but it wasn’t. 

Rey did her best to avoid his questions, asking others to replace them, like if he could check her inbox for applicants for the open position and again for her keys, just to keep her going. 

Charles knew, though. 

The man always knew… and on the third day of her avoiding his questions, he flat out asked about the man she went to go see. 

“How did you know?” Rey flushed. 

“C’mon, Rey. I’m a cop…” he said as if that explained his hunch, “You’re not sporting that rock anymore. You're not obsessing over it, either. You’re keeping yourself busy. Either you’ve hooked him or he tossed you out. Which, I’m not going to lie, I’m not sure I like either, but I’m here to talk if you need to.”

Rey forced a smile, which pushed Charles to add, “I swear to God I will kick his ass if he hurt you.”

Her grin improved that much more to a soft chuckle. 

“I know… I do. It’s nothing really. I don’t know why I’m getting so worked up over it. I’m okay though. Really.”

“So long as you’re sure. I can’t have my friend feeling like she can’t talk to me…”

“Yeah, it’s not… you don’t have to worry. I’m just in my own head, kinda,” Rey replied, frowning at the noise blaring behind her. What on Earth could have been causing this? “I thought you said traffic was light?”

“It was light,” Charles answered quickly, heading around the desk to see out the window. “Looks like they opened up tunnel two finally.” 

Rey watched as he scanned the mess of traffic from the mouth of it up to the booths and grumbled. Next he’s situated his belt to sit around his waist in that way she’s always read as the man getting ready to go back to work. 

“What is it?” she asked quickly. 

“A crazy mother…” 

“Charles!” she hissed.

“Ugh,” he sighed. “I forget my mouth sometimes. You’ve got a pedestrian creating a scene at booth five, standing outside of his car. May need back up for this one.”

Rey snorted at that, asking, “Why?” 

“Guy’s waving his arms at the camera saying, ‘we need to talk’.”

Rey’s frown remained, while an odd tingle managed to grab her attention. 

“What’s he look like?” she asked. 

“Why’s it yer man?” one of the guys coming out of their shift said, provoking Rey a little further. “Figured you’d only attract the crazy ones. It’s always the quiet ones, am I right?” 

A beat later she managed to throw a coaster at the guy, assuring him Ben’s not crazy. 

“Uh huh,” he replied, turning her monitor towards her, the speakers high, “This Ben?”

“Rey? Can we talk? I’ve been up and down this mess of traffic looking for you. Please? It’s me, Ben Solo.”

The color in her face burned brightly, then dropped to her toes, chilling her as she went. It wasn’t that she was afraid of him or anything like that. He just, he couldn’t have come around and parked in their lot? He couldn’t have done this any more discreetly than being that crazy guy that’ll go viral and be remixed into the highlight of everyone’s memes? 

“It is? Isn’t it?” 

“Shut up,” Rey snipped back at him. 

“I’ll get him, alright?” Officer Bacca promised. “Then I need to know what’s going on with this mess, Rey, I mean it.”

—-

It’s safe to say it was an awkward conversation to have, but when it was over, Rey managed to feel a little closer to Charles, like he really was family, and that felt nice. 

The only trouble with that now is, he has been escorting her to and from work. Any time she needed something, he’d make sure it was him or one of his brothers in blue that showed up. Not that it was real trouble - but it was getting to be a little too much.

Even now, while she sat with her head in her hands, elbows on her desk downstairs, she can hear his footsteps making it down the hall. What was it going to be now? A coffee refill? Rey doesn’t have to bother looking at the now cold, full cup to the side of her toolbox to know it’s there. 

Deep down she dreads having this conversation with him just a couple days after he’d put his foot down as her “big brother” - but it had to happen. Her sigh puffed out of her, while her head was still propped up in her hands. The fluttering of paper sounded near her, and is slid between her elbows just as the footsteps stopped. Rey’s brow furrowed then, Charles would have rounded the desk, taken her tools and sat on the workbench, but this time he didn’t. 

What?

“Listen, thank you for leaving this, Chuck,” she said, closing her eyes before sitting back in her chair. 

“It’s Ben,” Rey heard him say. Her eyes shot open, and looked up to find all six foot two of Ben in front of her while she leaned back in her chair, “actually.”

“What… what are you doing here?” she gasped, trying to keep her voice low. If Charles knew, he’d grab the man by the collar and have a restraining order slapped on him so quickly he would think he was launched into the stars he studied. 

He looked like a mess of himself, dressed in jeans and a tee shirt, his hair tousled and his injury lightened considerably since she’d been with him last. 

“I had to see you,” he said honestly. 

Rey swallowed. The sound of those five words made it hard to breathe. Besides, Charles and his brothers in arms who weren’t exactly hers, she’d never felt so important to another - and honestly - it was frightening.

“Did you… did you get my note that morning?” Ben swallowed. 

“I did,” Rey mimicked him.

Ben nodded, clearly unsure of what to say. He lifted his hand to run his fingers through his hair, then added, “I meant what wrote.”

All she could do was nod. 

“So, I guess that’s it then? 

“What’s it?”

“This,” Ben managed to say. “This connection, this whatever this could have been, you’re done with it - aren’t you?”

Rey shook her head automatically. That’s not what she thought. “I just said I got it, Ben… what’s? You’ve gotta tell me what’s going on, what you feel… like your note.” Her eyes dropped from his. “You can’t just come in here and tell me half of it and assume the worst.”

“But you’re not, you haven’t moved. I thought by coming down here, you’d, I don’t know, be happy to see me. I mean, I figured we could try here instead of,” he points behind him as if Africa was back there. 

“I… Ben, I didn't say that.”

“But you didn’t  _ not _ say that.”

Rey’s brow furrowed while he sighed. 

“That’s not. I didn’t mean to say it like that. I just, I feel things with you, Rey, and I don’t want to lose this feeling. I know you feel this, this thing between us. I know you do. I just, I really need to know this doesn’t stop here.”

Silence stretched between them for a long while, and he looked like he was willing himself to disappear. Maybe he had a better way to say it, maybe he practiced this all day long and it came out in a jumbled mess now, but something about his earnestness made her want to try. 

“Ben,” she whispered his name, standing. His form seemed to tremble at the sound of his name on her lips. Something about it raced through her, but she can’t tell what. “I know… I do. Nothing’s been the same since I left… and it scares me a little, the uncertainty of it all. But there’s something there, when I see you, think of you… that makes me want to try.”

She’s not sure when it’d happened, but she feels tears forming in the corners of her eyes at the enormity of letting someone in. 

And then he’s there, quietly moving towards her, and she feels the need to add, “I just need to go slow. If this is something, let it speak for itself, you know?”

Ben nodded, even if her message didn’t truly get to him, she was sure of it, but the look he gave was honest and promising.

“Okay,” he answered, taking her hands in his. “Okay.”


End file.
